Vidor's Montana Quirante, who does not have a scholarship offer, said he is hoping for a scholarship that will allow him to attend a school that will allow him to complete missionary work.
Photo taken Thursday, January 17, 2013
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Vidor's Montana Quirante, who does not have a scholarship offer, said he is hoping for a scholarship that will allow him to attend a school that will allow him to complete missionary work.
Photo taken ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Vidor's Montana Quirante, who does not have a scholarship offer, said he is hoping for a scholarship that will allow him to attend a school that will allow him to complete missionary work.
Photo taken Thursday, January 17, 2013
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Vidor's Montana Quirante, who does not have a scholarship offer, said he is hoping for a scholarship that will allow him to attend a school that will allow him to complete missionary work.
Photo taken ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Image 3 of 5

Vidor's Montana Quirante, who does not have a scholarship offer, said he is hoping for a scholarship that will allow him to attend a school that will allow him to complete missionary work.
Photo taken Thursday, January 17, 2013
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Vidor's Montana Quirante, who does not have a scholarship offer, said he is hoping for a scholarship that will allow him to attend a school that will allow him to complete missionary work.
Photo taken ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Buccaneer #27, Glenn Roberts, left, hangs onto the ball despite Hawk #12, Andrew Martel trying to knock the ball from his grasp. The East Chambers Buccaneers football team played the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Friday night at Hawk Stadium. At the half, the Hawks were ahead 6-0. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise less

Buccaneer #27, Glenn Roberts, left, hangs onto the ball despite Hawk #12, Andrew Martel trying to knock the ball from his grasp. The East Chambers Buccaneers football team played the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks at ... more

Photo: Dave Ryan

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Some high school football stars play waiting game

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Montana Quirante can't recall the countless number of morning he's woken up and begun typing emails with his father.

With his always-calm, content face and a head full of black and blonde hair, Quirante typed words he hoped would change his future, words that might make a college football coach notice him.

All-state second team linebacker.

All-state honorable mention

quarterback.

District 20-4A MVP.

But less than a month before National Signing Day on Feb. 6, the player who led District 20-4A in rushing yards on offense and tackles on defense is still without a scholarship offer.

"Right now we're kind of just coasting, just waiting for a reply," Quirante said. "I'm thinking about it all throughout the day, figuring out what I really want to do. I don't think I have a lot of options right now, and whenever we think of school…we've already sent out emails to all of the ones we can think of."

Vidor coach Jeff Mathews still sends out three to four emails each day, including highlight videos from Quirante's time at Vidor.

While many standout high school football players have multiple options heading into signing day, that isn't the case for everyone.

East Chambers running back Glenn Roberts finished his high school career with a school-best 99 touchdowns. Yet his only offer, from Blinn Junior College, didn't arrive until late December. For a player who routinely dominated opponents at the high school level, being without offers from Division I schools isn't what Roberts imagined.

"I'm hoping for a couple of DI offers," Roberts said last week. "It would be everything I've ever wanted."

Quirante's limitations

While Quirante waits for a scholarship offer, he searches for a school willing to wait on him.

"It definitely limits me to what schools I can go to because most schools aren't going to want me to be gone for two years," Quirante said. "It's just a sacrifice."

But when asked what comes first in his life, Quirante is quick to answer "family and church." Quirante has five siblings. His two older brothers have already been on missions.

This limitation, as he put it, has led Quirante to mostly contact BYU, Utah State, Hawaii and Snow College, a junior college located in Utah. BYU and Utah State, he said, have offered him an opportunity to join their teams as a preferred walk-on, which means he could potentially earn a scholarship following his first season.

Quirante said he is willing to play for other schools if the opportunity arises.

"I'm not necessarily trying to get away from this area but I think it would be easier to find people with my standards up there and find good friends," Quirante said of the aforementioned schools. "The main problem is I'm trying to find a school (that will work with the mission). That's why we're sending all of these emails to Utah because they're willing to work with me and my mission because they're used to it."

Sizing up prospects

When college coaches have visited East Chambers the past two years, they've never told Roberts he's too small.

"They can't get past the size," said Sutherland, who is in his second year at East Chambers. "That's been the whole thing in a nutshell. They cannot get past the height. And really he's not as small as everyone seems to think. He's very well put together. He's not just a short skinny kid. Somebody is going to be very pleased. He's an unbelievable player, an unbelievable kid."

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Roberts ran for 2,104 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior and finished with 99 career touchdowns. While he never heard coaches doubt his physique, he's seen more than a dozen coaches visit East Chambers in the past two years without offering a scholarship.

As with Quirante, Roberts started sending out highlight videos following his sophomore season in 2010. And he attended football camps at Sam Houston State and UTSA last summer with hopes of putting his name on the minds of those schools' coaches. Engulfed in the experience of waiting for an offer was nervousness and not knowing what was to come. Roberts can finally relax, although he hopes more offers arrive.

"I want to prove it bad and show everybody what I can do," Roberts said. "It doesn't matter what size you are if you have the heart and the mindset."

Quirante's situation is similar.

Mathews believes college coaches think Quirante lacks about three inches on his 6-foot, 205-pound frame from being a college-level linebacker.

"I think he's too good a player not to go play somewhere; I think he's just too good a player," Mathews said. "He doesn't have a solid offer yet and I honestly don't know why. I know for linebackers a lot of teams are looking for a 6-3 guy, and he's not a 6-3 guy. I hope he gets a chance. If not I think he'll walk on somewhere. But if someone gives him a chance they're going to be pleasantly surprised."

Not everyone waits

The contrast to waiting can be extreme. At Ozen, junior defensive back Tony Brown has 20 offers.

Others, like Port Arthur Memorial senior defensive tackle Matthew Romar, meanwhile, will spend the upcoming days and weeks looking over multiple offers. Romar has offers from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

But for those who are waiting, Feb. 6 is simply the first day they can sign with colleges. Roberts, for instance, said he might wait longer before making his decision if that's what it takes to ensure if arrives at his preferred destination.

"I hope I know where I'm going by the end of February," Roberts said. "But right now it's more comfortable knowing somebody wants me and I can go somewhere rather than waiting on somebody to keep on coming by."